Wessington Springs residents are meeting this morning with local, county and state officials to assess the damage caused by a Wednesday night tornado.

An initial tally of the destruction reports 23 houses are uninhabitable with 20 more sustaining damage in the small town of about 1,000 people 125 miles northwest of Sioux Falls. Some of the houses were in southern Wessington Springs while others are located on the town's east side. Ten businesses on Wessington Springs' south side were damaged with five essentially destroyed.

The injury toll to residents was much less with only one person needing treatment.

Wessington Springs fire chief Jim Vavra said the fire department had 20 minutes lead time to warn people of the tornado's approach. That 20 minutes likely saved a lot of lives, he said.

The Jerauld County courthouse was opened up as a tornado shelter.

Among the businesses damaged was Springs Auto. The Ford dealership had moved to its current location after its uptown location was destroyed by fire on Jan. 3, 2012. Owner Lawrence Caffee had said at the time he was unsure he would rebuild, but the business was reopened. The tornado caused the car dealership building to essentially implode on itself, a witness said. Springs Auto also houses L Double J Implement, which sells new and used farm equipment.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard traveled to Wessington Springs Wednesday night and is returning to the community today after spending the night in Huron. He had been scheduled to golf in his own tournament today.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning at 7:25 p.m. Wednesday for Jerauld County, including Wessington Springs. At 7:45 p.m., based on law enforcement reports, a tornado "went right through the heart of town," meteorologist Todd Heitkamp said.

All of the town's residents were accounted for and only one person had to be treated for injuries at the local hospital, according to Jerauld County State's Attorney Dedrich Koch, who was serving as spokesman for the disaster mitigation team.

"At this point, what we're doing is we're organizing for tomorrow. We are securing the damaged areas tonight, locking those down," Koch said. "We'll assess damages and worry about cleanup in the morning."

At least 11 homes are damaged to the point of being uninhabitable, Koch said. Three businesses on the south end of town also were a total loss: Springs Auto car dealership, The Hideout Bar & Grill and the Prairie Lounge and American Legion building.

The town's emergency sirens gave residents significant advance notice to the threat, Koch said. About 30 to 40 people waited out the storm in the nuclear fallout shelter in the basement of the Jerauld County courthouse.

Laura Baker of Wessington Springs heard the warnings and was in her basement when the tornado rumbled through town.

"It kind of sounded like a freight train," Baker said.

After the storm passed, she watched the neighbor kids for a few hours while her neighbor joined volunteers offering help to those who needed it.

Baker was just leaving her home for the first time around 10:30 p.m., in search of generators in hopes of saving inventory at the flower shop she runs.

The storm knocked out electricity to the town, and power was left off through the night as a safeguard for emergency responders.

Avera Health has a hospital and nursing home in Wessington Springs, both of which sustained minor damage, including a few broken windows, according to Lindsey Meyers, vice president of public relations for Avera Health.

"I just talked to our folks who are at the hospital there. There's quite a bit of debris. The town is on lockdown," said Meyers, who is based in Mitchell.

Both Avera facilities were operating on emergency backup power and Avera Weskota Memorial Hospital was staffed and ready to accept patients. As of 10 p.m. Wednesday, it had only seen one patient for storm-related injuries.

That injury occurred on a farm outside of town, Koch said. A woman was trapped in a farm house that had been damaged in the storm until first responders were able to rescue her and get her to the hospital. She was in good condition late Wednesday.

The same tornado that ravaged Wessignton Springs then traveled east, narrowly missing the towns of Lane, Alpena and Woonsocket.

Woonsocket experienced a close call but ended up going untouched by the tornado.

Mayor Lindy Peterson said the tornado passed close enough that his neighbor was able to see it on the horizon from Highway 34.

When the tornado warning was issued, Woonsocket's emergency whistle went off to warn residents.

"We just got some big drops of rain and some dark clouds. We can be thankful for that," Peterson said.

Meanwhile, friends in Wessington Springs weren't as fortunate. Peterson and his wife called friends there and know at least one family whose home was damaged.

"We're trying to let them gather themselves and we'll see if we can help them later," Peterson said.

Numerous volunteers, fire departments and other first responders converged on the town in the hours after the event. Gov. Dennis Daugaard ordered 100 National Guard soldiers to assist with the recovery. Daugaard arrived in Wessington Springs with a team late Wednesday.

The Red Cross had set up a shelter for people who lost their home and didn't have friends or relatives to stay with. Koch said it was too soon to give specifics on when and how the town will need more assistance.

"We haven't really had an opportunity to get out there and put the eyes on the actual damages," Koch said.